1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image synthesizing method of outputting a print image in which characters such as an address, name, arbitrarily-created sentence and the like, a background image such as a previously prepared image and the like and an image read from a film original and the like are synthesized in a composite print image, in which a digital sentence and an image are synthesized, such as a picture postcard and the like used as New Year's cards, greeting cards and notices.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a large number of postal cards on which a photograph is printed, namely, so-called picture postcards have been used as New Year's cards, notices of marriage and the like. The picture postcard is composed of a print image having characters and a photographic image combined therein and formed on a base sheet such as a New Year postal card, a standard postal card and the like. In these picture postcards, since it is conventionally required to print (expose) characters such as an address, name, arbitrarily-created sentence and other predetermined sentence before a negative film or a positive film of a customer (user) is printed (exposed) using an image mask, these characters must be prepared as a block copy and then printed (exposed) to another film such as a lith film or the like using an image mask. In addition, in case of, for example, a New Year's card, a predetermined image (template image, base sheet image) such as "New Year's decorative pine trees" or the like must be printed as a background image using an image mask. Creation of the prior art picture postcards requires at least a total of three films, i.e., the lith film for characters and the respective films for the user's image and the predetermined image for each case. The three films are arranged as one set for each case and loaded on a prior art analog printer and a composite image formed by the thus set three films and having characters and an image synthesized therein is repeatedly printed onto photosensitive materials (papers) by exposing the surfaces of them using an image mask for a necessary period or time, so that a necessary number of sheets, for example, 50 sheets, 100 sheets, 200 sheets, 1000 sheets, etc. on which the composite image is formed are prepared. The predetermined number of the thus obtained print images are developed, cut off one by one and bonded on postal cards such as official postal cards, private postal cards and the like and base sheets and the like using a dedicated bonding machine and picture postcards are created.
Incidentally, since Chinese characters peculiar to a user are sometimes used to an addresses, name and the like, even analogous Chinese characters must be often corrected because a delicate difference is required thereto. In the prior art analog printer, since a lith film dedicated to characters must be prepared for each case through creation of a block copy, exposure and development, however, there is a problem that correction of Chinese characters is time-consuming and troublesome. The composite image is obtained by arranging the three films, namely, the character film, the user's image film and the predetermined image film as one set. Since a lot of cases must be processed in a short period of time at the end of a year when New Year's cards and the like are created, a large number of predetermined images such as base sheet images and the like must be prepared if they are popular among many users or a certain number of predetermined images must be rearranged one after another. There is an increased possibility that the rearrangement is erroneously carried out, by which a problem arises in that costs are increased. In addition, although multiple print must be effected using image masks to form the image window of a user's image to various shapes, there is a problem that the multiple print is very troublesome.
In contrast, there have been recently proposed digital print systems making use of digital exposure which are arranged such that image information recorded on a photographic film original (hereinafter, referred to as a film original) such as a negative film, a reversal film and the like is photoelectrically read, the read image is converted into a digital signal and subjected to various steps of image processing to provide recording image information, a photosensitive material such as a printing paper or the like is scan exposed by recording light modulated in accordance with the image information to thereby record an image (latent image) and the image is developed and printed. Digital photoprinters for embodying the systems are being developed.
The digital print system can optionally perform editing such as combination of a plurality of images to a composite image, division of a single image into segments and the like, editing of print images such as editing of characters and images, and various types of image processing such as layout, color/density adjustments, magnification, contour enhancement (sharpness) and the like and output finished prints which have been optionally edited and subjected to image processing in accordance with various uses. Further, prior art print systems employing direct exposure cannot reproduce all the image density information recorded on a film and the like in such aspects as density resolution, space resolution, color/density reproducibility, etc., while the digital photoprinter can output prints in which approximately 100% of the image density information recorded on a film is reproduced.
The digital photo print system and a digital photoprinter is fundamentally provided with an image input device (scanner) for photoelectrically reading an image recorded on an original such as a film or the like through an image sensor or the like, a display device (display) for displaying the read image or a composite image in which the read image, a predetermined image and characters are synthesized, an input device for inputting characters such as an address, name, arbitrarily-created sentence and the like and various numbers and conditions, a controller for controlling the system as a whole, an image processing device for subjecting the read image to image processing and synthesizing the read image, the predetermined image and a character image such as the address, name and the like and subjecting the resultant composite image to the image processing and an image output device for scan exposing a photosensitive material with an exposing beam such as a laser beam or the like which is modulated in accordance with the image information having been subjected to the image processing.
According to the digital print system arranged as described above, it is possible in the image processing device to store and keep digital image data such as images recorded on respective films, predetermined images such as a base sheet image (template image) and the like, bitmap-created predetermined sentences and the like and their image processing conditions in a memory device such as a non-volatile memory, for example, an EEPROM, EPPOM and the like provided with the digital photoprinter and in a memory medium such as a FD (floppy disc), MO (magneto-optical recording medium) and the like. Since a predetermined image and a predetermined sentence need not be created for each case when a picture postcard and the like are made as well as since a composite image in which an image read from a film original of a user, a predetermined image such as a template image and a character image such as an address, name, predetermined sentence and the like are combined (or synthesized) is displayed on the display device, modifications and corrections can be easily and accurately performed. When composite image data is created once, a necessary number of prints can be continuously and automatically output by the image output device using the laser beam or the like. Thus, the picture postcards can be easily, accurately and effectively made.
When picture postcards are made using the digital print system arranged as described above, a user's image read from an original such as a negative film or a reversal film presented by the user must be accurately synthesized in an image inserting region, namely, an image frame which is designated in a background image selected by the user. Since the shape and size of a user's original image does not usually coincide with a shape and size of the image region or the image frame designated in the background image and a resolution when the user's original image is read through the scanner does not usually coincide with an output resolution of the digital printer, read image data is subjected various steps of processing. When background image data and read image data are synthesized only by simply causing their sizes and resolutions to coincide with each other, there arises a problem that the read image inserted into and synthesized with the background image is displaced forward, backward, rightward and leftward or turned and distorted, since the size of the read image is too small, the border of an original appears or since it is too large, a necessary picture is chipped off. There is a possibility that an image desired by the user cannot be obtained.
To cope with the above problem, the read original image is displayed on the display device such as a monitor or the like. Since there are various steps of processing until the read original image is synthesized with the background image and output as the composite print image by being finally exposed and developed, however, a problem also arises in that an image displayed on the monitor does not always coincide with an image inserted into the composite print image. In particular, since the image frame of the background image which is selected by the user does not always has a rectangular shape which is similar to the film original, there is also a problem that an image inserted into a resultant composite print image is different from the image desired by the user. Further, even the digital print system capable of displaying a reproduced image on a monitor cannot display an image inserted into a composite image frame and does not take the defect, namely, so-called vignetting of an image caused in various steps of processing into consideration. Thus, there is a problem that only the confirmation of the image displayed on the monitor cannot permit the read image to be completely and accurately inserted into the image frame of the background image.
Further, a problem arises in that it is very time-consuming and wasteful to repeat test prints of the composite image until the read image is completely and accurately inserted into the image frame of the background image.